Senate passes John Cornyn’s bill to improve public access to government documents

Legislation by transparency-in-government champion John Cornyn to reduce processing delays in Freedom of Information Act requests passed unanimously in the Senate on Thursday.

The Faster FOIA Act, which was reintroduced in March during Sunshine Week, would create a commission that would study how to reduce the delays, and it would “bring our government one step closer to better transparency,” said Cornyn, a Republican senator from San Antonio.

The legislation will now go to the House for consideration. Cornyn said it would be a benefit to the American people “who deserve to be treated as valued customers when they seek answers from their government.”

The commission would consist of 12 members, appointed by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the ranking member of that committee, the chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and the ranking member of that committee, the Attorney General, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. archivist and the Comptroller General.

Based on the commission’s findings, it would give recommendations to Congress for legislative action to enhance the responses of different agencies.

Some members of the commission would have experience processing information requests, some in library sciences and some in information management. The appointments would have to be made no later than 60 days after the legislation’s enactment.

Touted as a bipartisan effort, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont is a co-sponsor, and he commended the Senate for passing the legislation. He urged for a quick passage in the House.